US Turns Back on Trusted Ally

Since 2003 the Kurds of Iraq have worked much more cooperatively with the US than Turkey. Don't forget the 4^th ID fiasco where Turkey denied the US a northern front in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. Since 2003, the Turkish government has taken a turn away from the secular by electing a Muslim activist for president.

Kurdistan, Iraq has proven to be the most secure and stable portion of Iraq. But now the US is turning its back on the Kurds of Iraq.

The US is using its intelligence capabilities (satellites, aircraft and UAVs) to finger out the separatist Kurds known as the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).

Turkey claims the PKK is a terrorist organization, well, so were the revolutionaries according to the British in 1775. By whose terms is the PKK terrorist? Turkey has been bombing the PKK since Operation NORTHERN WATCH. We'd have stand down days when we wouldn't fly in ONW so we couldn't witness the Turkish bombing of the PKK and other Kurds.

Needless to say the Kurds are none too happy about this turn of events.

Sunday's airstrikes provoked outrage in Baghdad, particularly among Kurdish members of the country's leadership. Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdish regional government, which administers three northern Iraqi provinces, called the attack "a violation of Iraq's sovereignty." He blamed the U.S. military, which controls Iraqi airspace, for allowing Turkish warplanes to cross the border. The Iraqi parliament also condemned the attacks yesterday.

The alternative threat from Turkey is for Turkey to launch a military strike into Iraq. The US has plenty of sticks and carrots to thwart this advance. The first thing the US must consider is shutting down Incirlik AB, Turkey. The airbase is a relic from the Cold War when Turkey played a vital role in keeping the Soviets in check. Its utility is more limited now especially in light of the lack of support the Turks provided during the run up to the Iraq War. The US has options in the area to build bases in other countries that are more US friendy.

But there is something else in the works that might have prompted the issue. From Nightwatch:

The Turkish-Iranian Frontier Commission has signed an agreement for the two countries to cooperate in fighting militants, specifically the Kurdistan Workers' Party, the Turkish Daily News reported today. The agreement also calls for cooperation in fighting drug traffickers and other criminals along the shared border.

This might better explain the US's interest in helping the Turks bomb the PKK. It is better that Turkey get US help rather than turning to the Iranians.